Power of collaboration

Recently I attended a marathon brainstorming session lasting 6 hours. When it was over, we were amazed by the extent of progress we had achieved.

At the other extreme was a case last week. I write a new post for my blog every Monday. Though I share my views and ask for response / feedback from readers, including the members of LinkedIn groups I am member of. The response to this request is very meager. Last week, when I was burning mid-night oil to complete my blog post, my wife made a suggestion, which took her probably just a few seconds, that if I want to get feedback from my readers, I must actively involve them. It triggered the realization that I need to take a very different approach so far untried by me. Next day, I posed a simple one-liner question to the group members asking for help. The response was simply overwhelming. I had never imagined that so many persons would take time out and share their experiences and make some wonderful suggestions. I experienced the real power of collaboration.

When I think back, even my wife’s suggestion was part of collaboration. Her perspective which was very different from mine led me in unfamiliar territory and opened up new opportunities for me.

Few takeaways from these experiences of last week, Different perspectives add value to the collaboration. Interaction time to create this value can vary widely. An open mind ready to try the unfamiliar leads to unexpected results. You can’t predict in advance the outcome because as they say “one thing leads to another”. The real power of collaboration lies in the synergy at play.

Your views and inputs are valuable; please share.